Barry Middleton Poems

air to breathe
and fuel the soul

a fire within
...

the year will pass away
a soldier lost in war
a sailor sets to sea
returning nevermore
...

Poetry is tangential.
It does not follow life
like a faithful dog.
Poetry is thought at
...

The ritual of hopefulness
is always the same.

Velvet night is a soft vibration
...

I am exhausted
the party has gone on
too long
and still the guests
...

In a dream came a stranger
all in black and smiling.
And foolish trust compelled me,
and I said enter friend,
...

I looked into the tiger's eye
and shared the air
that only fools
would dare to breathe.
...

If I were forced to make a brief summation
of what was worth the time and what was not,
I would not go the way of some I've seen
and trace the river to its source and stop
...

It was our multi-purpose shack,
the playhouse of my early youth.
The fort was a place
to carry out childish experiments
...

The ceremonial main beam
went up in spring,
an oak two by six
so heavy it took
...